For the fifth year in a row, Deutschlandfunk Kultur – Radio Art / Klangkunst and CTM Festival – in collaboration with the ORF musikprotokoll im steirischen herbst, Ö1 Radiokunst / Kunstradio, and with the support of the British music magazine The Wire – are delighted to commission an artistic project. The call is for unusual audio projects that couple the radio medium with the potential of live performance or installation while also relating to the CTM 2018 Festival theme: Turmoil.

The call is open to artists in the fields of experimental music, sound art, radio art, new radio drama, and performance. The commissioned work will premiere in the form of an installation or live performance at CTM 2018 Festival in Berlin (26 January – 4 February 2018), and then be broadcasted in Deutschlandfunk Kultur’s Klangkunst programme. The Österreichischer Rundfunk (Austrian Broadcasting Corporation) will subsequently present them via one or more of its platforms (depending on the character of the works): the Ö1 Zeit-Ton or Ö1 Radiokunst – Kunstradio radio shows, and/or (in Autumn 2018), the ORF musikprotokoll im steirischen herbst festival in Graz.

Proposed projects must explore the potential of combining radio and live performance / installation within the Turmoil thematic framework of CTM 2018. They will be presented as a live performance or installation as well as in the form of a 40–55 minute radio broadcast.

Last year’s winning projects, selected from over 150 entries, can be enjoyed once more in Autumn 2017. The piece "Happy New Fear" by Lebanese artist Rima Najdi in collaboration with Kathy Alberici and Ana Nieves Moya will be presented live on 8 October as part of "Radiokunst – Kunstradio", within the one-day Ö1 Kunstsonntag Spezial on the occasion of the ORF musikprotokoll im steirischen herbst festival’s 50^th anniversary, and simultaneously broadcast live. The second piece, "The Death of the Anthropocene" by Mexican artist Julian Bonequi, will be broadcast 15 October via Ö1 Kunstradio. Both pieces are also available for streaming on the website of Deutschlandfunk Kultur (follow the links above).

The call is not subject to geographical restrictions – we encourage submissions by artists from all over the world. The selected work will be awarded a 5,000 € fee plus production costs.

• Deadline for submission: 17 September 2017
• Winners notified: End of September 2017 
• Production phase: October 2017 – January 2018
• Performance at CTM 2018 Festival: 26 January to 4 February 2018
• Deutschlandfunk Kultur – Klangkunst radio broadcast: February / March 2018
• Presentation via ORF: Autumn 2018

The international jury will be comprised of five persons from various backgrounds (artists, curators, journalists) and will be disclosed together with the results.

The selected work will be supported by a production budget/fee of EUR 5000. Technical/staging costs for CTM and possible ORF musikprotokoll im steirischen herbst festival performances will be covered additionally, as will travel expenses to Berlin and lodging during the residency and festival period.

Deutschlandfunk Kultur and CTM Festival will provide support, counselling, and general assistance during the production of the work.

The application process is now closed. Thank you to all that applied!

Deutschlandfunk Kultur – Radio Art / Klangkunst

The weekly "Klangkunst" ("Sound Art") broadcast (formerly "Hörspiel Werkstatt") was launched in January 1995 by Deutschlandfunk Kultur, German National Radio’s cultural programme. The broadcast was established to extend the formal possibilities of radio play, to experiment with new genres, and to introduce listeners to outstanding examples of international sound art. The programme covers the entire range of new radio art, from experimental sound play to poetry, text-sound collages, soundscapes, multilingual compositions, and electronic and digital radio performances. International networking and exchange among international radio artists are critical dimensions of the programme. Klangkunst is understood as a laboratory for testing the widest possible range of sounds. The programme draws from the varied motifs of diverse sonic environments, creating new amalgams of sound dramaturgy, narrative structures, compositional arcs, and characteristics of radio as a medium. Klangkunst is a member of the Ars Acustica group of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU).

CTM – Festival for Adventurous Music & Art

CTM is the leading festival for innovative pop, electronic, and experimental music in Germany. With a mix of concerts and club events, the festival has implemented programming at numerous bastions of Berlin nightlife and culture, and presents internationally renowned artists alongside exhibitions, talks, film screenings, and workshops. International, intensely networked, and always in close contact with artists, professionals, and the public, CTM’s year-round activities make critical contributions to a vibrant and artistically innovative music culture. Extending beyond the conventional parameters of a music festival, CTM is a platform for thinking about music, its social relevance, and the conditions from which it emerges. As a partner to Berlin’s concurrent international festival for art and digital culture broadcasting, transmediale, CTM is resonant and relevant entity across all creative tropes.

Ö1 Radiokunst – Kunstradio

Ö1 Radiokunst – Kunstradio has dedicated itself to experimental radio art since 1987. The show has featured many artistic projects which crosslink radio with tangible, intangible, and public spaces, giving artists an entry point and platform for public radio production and broadcasting.

ORF musikprotokoll im steirischen herbst

ORF musikprotokoll im steirischen herbst is Austria’s festival platform for contemporary and experimental music. Functioning as a kind of laboratory, musikprotokoll invites the audience to embark on an exploratory journey to discover the latest developments and trends in music, with all the artistic risks that this entails. From orchestral music with the ORF Radio Symphonieorchester Wien to chamber music, from live performances to sound installations, musikprotokoll highlights a wide range of intriguingly heterogeneous forms and genres and presents works that are for the most part developed and produced specifically for the festival.

Founded by Emil Breisach in 1968, musikprotokoll is organised annually by ORF (Austrian Broadcasting Corporation). It is a co-production of the ORF’s two stations, Radio Österreich 1 (Ö1) and Radio Steiermark, which broadcast presented works in cooperation with the steirischer herbst festival.

The CTM 2018 Radio Lab is supported by Deutschlandfunk Kultur, ORF Ö1 Kunstradio and ORF musikprotokoll im Steirischen Herbst.

Media partner: The Wire.